Alan wondered if anyone else in town was thinking of calling in. He wondered if they might spill the beans that Jack was in 

town

. Hiding.

The windshield wipers pushed the snow that had accumulated while he sat inside off. The wiper did this twice more before Alan hit the switch.

Jack really wasn't hiding at all. He had come home to visit friends. Funny how because he was famous, anything he did out of the spotlight was considered hiding.

Alan thought about Jack staying at Aaron the past few days. He was surprised that the two hand't killed each other yet. Aaron had a lot of flaws, but he was a real down to earth guy. Maybe that's why Jack Attack, the big influencer, could get along with him. He was seen not as a celebrity but as a human.

He turned the radio off. He was suddenly inspired to go visit them. But he would need to text them a warning first. So he decided to send a text before driving. He would first drive to 

Imogen Howe

's cafe. Sit there and have a non-caffeinated drink. Imogen wouldn't be there at this hour, but he could talk to the other Mikayla the other barista.

The bell greeted him as he walked through the door. There was no line; he ordered a hibiscus tea right away.

It was only after he sat down he checked to see if Jack or Aaron had texted back.

"Yeah come on through. We here."

Mikayla brought out the tea to him.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Are you coming to the New Year's party?"

"Yeah. I'm excited."

"We are too. You know that Imogen's been planning this for years? I haven't been here that long, but she told me that when she started working here a few years back, this," Mikayla spread her arms to mention the space, " was what she was hoping to have someday. And being able to throw parties... she said that it took years to even get to that point."

"Yeah I bet. Running a business must be difficult in itself."

"Indeed. Last year was pretty dark. But I feel like we're in a sort of groove now."

"I wouldn't have even known that the 

cafe

was struggling so recently. Like last year I mean."

"Oh yeah. She almost had to quit. There was no way she would ask her parents to mortgage their house again. So she had to make it on her own. She tried to get a loan from the bank herself but she didn't have any collateral. There was a few weeks when she and I had to skip payroll for ourselves. Yeah it was pretty bad."

The soft yet rhythmic tones of 

Thievery Corporation

brought Alan back into the room. He noticed the space. The way lights flowed. The walls decorated in a good balance of worldliness but not feeling like a midwestern cafe trying to be something it wasn't. The people enjoying conversations. Laughter. This place couldn't have been imagined in the town that Alan had grew up in.

"This is something special," Alan said. "I'm glad to have been here for it."

"Imogen won't tell me. But she seems to make it sound like you're moving back to... or that you never moved out of 

Westcity

in the first place?"

"Yeah. Technically I still live there." Alan chuckled. "I've only been here for three weeks now. I guess that's a normal time to visit home right?"

"See you just called this place home."

"That's just a thing college kids do. They'll call wherever they went to high school home for awhile. Until they find a new place."

Mikayla was still standing technically. But she was leaned against the chair across the table.

"Do you think that you might move back home?"

Alan's phone began to vibrate. Mikayla noticed it. Smiled and said she had to get back to work.

"Yo, Alan! Don't come here. We're coming to you! Where are you? Jack and I need some protein!"

"the cafe."

"of course. See you soon, fucker."

Alan hung up and took a sip of the sour hibiscus tea.